Where Affection Lies
by MidnightSting
Summary: When neither Weapon or Miester will tell the other what's wrong things can get a little out of hand. Just where does the affection lie?  Somewhere between coded words lies an SOS.
1. Ch 1: Her Lies

**Where Affection Lies**

By. MidnightSting

**Chapter 1: Her Lies**

"Maka!" the scythe in said girl's hands shown brightly as the boys face appeared in reflection next to where the blade connected to the staff; a look of concern clouding his eyes. "Don't push yourself! If you aren't feeling well we can do this another day!"

"Soul's right, Maka," their pale professor stated as he approached her from behind, and placed a hand over her own, removing Soul from them. Maka reached up in protest only to have her scythe pulled away as Stein set him on the tiled floor of Shibusen to return to his human form.

"I can keep going, Professor! Just give me a minute to catch my breath." Maka argued through shaky, labored breathing as she tried to regain some control over her lungs. What was wrong with her? Was it possible that, _that_ had begun to act up again?

She didn't want to believe it.

"Maka," Stein began in a tone that would seem normal to everyone else, but to Maka it appeared lethal. She knew what he was going to say, and her eyes pleaded with him to just let it go.

"I can do this!" She pleaded in one last feeble attempt to continue her soul resonance training.

"Maka," Soul's harsh voice broke in with a scowl, "we can do this any day, so stop being so pig-headed and listen to what we said!"

"Pig-headed?" Maka growled with gritted teeth, "well, excuse we for wanting to get stronger!"

"Oh, please, Maka," he rolled his eyes as well as his voice, if that were even possible, "you already defeated the kishin, how much stronger can you get?" his sarcastic tone made it hard for Maka to determine whether or not this comment was a compliment or in insult.

"Maka~" by the look on his face she took it as an insult, "CHOP!" the hardcover, one-thousand page, History of Souls text book made contact with it's target with perfect precision, and insured that her sarcastic partner would get a good taste of how Shibusen's tiled floor tasted on this particular evening.

Soul cursed under his breath as he gripped the top of his by now pounding head, and rolled over to face her with angry eyes.

"What was that for? It was a compliment!" he whined as he began cursing up a poem on how badly his head ached thanks to her.

"Didn't sound like one to me," she hissed as she leaned back onto the stonewall of the gymnasium behind her, and again began attempting to regain her lost breathing rate.

"Maka, I believe I made myself clear the last time we spoke of this, did I not?" Stein asked in a deadly tone. Maka didn't bother looking down from the ceiling as she nodded her head solemnly in agreement.

"I understand..." she said in a faint tone as she continued to stare at the yellowed ceiling with discontent. Steins deadly tone informed her that she had in fact been correct about her assumptions that, _that _had begun affecting her again.

She bit her bottom lip with a vengeance. Damn Medusa, and her insidious plot. Maka simply thanked the heavens that Soul had not yet managed to figure out the one parting gift that Medusa had left them, that continued to remind Maka of her retched existence even long after she died.

"If you understand, then get going home now," Steins voice took on a lighter sound and she looked down to see a crooked smile on his stitched face. "I expect to see you in my office tomorrow morning however to discuss this _incident_ further," Stein finished under his breath so that only Maka heard.

"Yes, sir," Maka nodded slowly as she walked over to where Soul sat gripping his indented head, "Come on, Soul..." Maka sighed as she grabbed onto the back of his jacket collar and proceeded to drag him down the hallway behind her.

"Oh, and Maka," she turned around to face Stein, showing him that he had her full attention, "if things continue like this you'll have to tell him."

Limes bore into Emeralds as they stared back at one another. She merely nodded her head before continuing down the hall.

"What was Stein talking about back there? Did he mean me by that last comment?" Soul asked as he finally decided to stand, and walk on his own. He continued to absently rub his head as if it actually hurt or something. Maka rolled her eyes. It had come to her attention some time ago that Soul had grown so accustom to her Maka chops that he had actually developed a resistance to them long ago, and as such had no such feeling of pain in his cranium.

"He was referring to my idiot father if you must know," she lied as she turned sharply, and opened up the doors of the school to be greeted with a gust of cool air.

"And what are you suppose to tell him?" Soul asked looking directly at her as he took a large step forward to keep up with her suddenly quickened stride. 'Was she hiding something from him?' he thought absently.

Maka wracked her brain in an attempted to find something, anything to change the subject to, or lie about. She felt herself growing angrier as she realized that she had no idea how to reply to that particular question. Damn Stein for throwing out that last line. It was hard enough to explain to Soul why they didn't accept as many missions as they used to, and part of the only reason he bought those excuses is because he assumed that it was because she had made him death scythe shortly after her defeating the kishin and no longer had any pressing reason to collect grotesque souls.

"Nothing," Maka mumbled without much else to say. Sure, when it came to exams, and educational related questions she could answer them in a second flat, but the moment it was a question like this she could do nothing but panic inside. She cursed her creating father for turning her into such an antisocial person.

"Nothing, huh..." Soul repeated as he eyed her. 'Something's off here...' he thought with concern, 'what's she hiding from me?'

She could feel his eyes burrow into her from behind the whole walk home. She bit her lip in anticipation of him calling her bluff, but he said nothing, and she was thankful for it.


	2. Ch 2: His Lies

**Where Affection Lies**

By. MidnightSting

**Chapter 2: His Lies**

He awoke to the sound of his meister's voice in a panicked state. She shook his shoulders violently, and hovered over his vertical form with weary eyes.

"Are you alright?" she asked in a poorly masked, shaky voice. He had done it again he thought miserably.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he mumbled feeling guilty for having woken her. He glanced over as he sat up to stare at her tired face. She hadn't been getting enough sleep lately. A frown set on his face as he realized the cause.

Him.

It had happened nearly every other night since their battle with the kishin. He would have a dream that started off well enough with them out on a mission, kicking ass, and taking names; then with almost no warning it would morph into a horrific nightmare of his meister screaming in pain as that damned Asura tore at her side.

He shivered at the memory of her yell, which burned into his brain, and replayed itself every few nights in his dreams. It was his subconscious's way of ragging on him he assumed.

'Here's what you get for letting her suffer like that!' he imagined the demon within himself cursing, 'it's _your _duty to protect her isn't it? _Suffer_!'

He was all right with that though. He disserved to suffer for the rest of his nights for ever allowing such harm to come to her. There was no way for him to forgive himself for that, he just wished his body would cooperate with his mind, and stop recruiting Maka for help every night.

"You know, Soul," Maka began slowly as she preoccupied herself with a blood stain on his sheets from one of the massive nose bleeds Blaire had been so kind to give him the other day, "you should tell me about this dream you keep having."

"It's nothing," Soul mumbled as he cursed himself for worrying her. He felt so useless all the time, and it was defiantly _not_ cool. He couldn't even help her with the simplest of things like cooking, or cleaning because his work never quite met her high standards, but the least he could do was keep her complacent, and happy. He wasn't even doing that right.

"Yeah," she began with a glare his way, "it's _so_ nothing. That's why you've been having it nearly every night for months now!" the stern look she gave him told him she meant business, and that she had, had enough of just sitting by and providing side-comfort when needed.

"I'm telling you, Maka," his mind briefly flashed back to the dream of her screaming in agony, and he turned away from her to look out his window with a deep-set, look of agony, "it's nothing..." he hoped to Shikigami that his voice didn't waver right then, or he would be done for.

"I've had it!" Maka yelped as she stood up, and slammed her hands down on his bed, "am I that unreliable to you?" she screeched, and she fisted the sheets within her small hands.

"Of course not!" Soul retorted without any thought as to what he was saying. Unreliable was one thing Maka was _not_. It wasn't that he didn't trust her; in fact it was the opposite. He trusted her to blame herself for his sufferings like she always did, and there was no way in hell he would let that happen. He'd rather die!

"Then why won't you tell me?" her voice cracked then, and Soul's heart sank in a guilty fit of rage. In his attempts to protect her from herself he was actually hurting her. He bit his lip in agony. How could he make her see?

"It's..." he paused as he desperately tried to find some way to tell her why, without actually telling her, "it's not like that," he finished as he mentally kicked himself for creating such a stupid answer. _Not_ cool, Soul.

"But it is isn't it?" she sniffed as she stared down at her hands, and the one drop of water that left her cheek told him that she was crying now. The lump in his throat grew, and he wished to scream out in pain at the chain reaction he was causing in her. He never wanted this. He only wanted himself to suffer, never her.

It was then that he knew what he had to do. It hit him like a rock, and he wondered why he hadn't done so earlier. It was going to hurt him inside, but it would be better for her in the end, and anything that was good for Maka was good for him too; he would have to deal with the consequences later.

"You're such an idiot, bookworm, Maka," Soul began with a forced smirk. He felt Maka twitch in irritation, and he knew it was working.

"What!" she asked irritated, refusing to look up do to the tears that no doubt still stained her face. By her tone he determined that it was working. All he had to do was get her angry then she'd be too pissed with him to care.

"It's not really any of your business now is it," he was fairly confident in that last comment. There was no way he was coming out of this unscathed though. He braced himself for some sort of reading devise to make contact with his skull, and every second that passed with no pain was a second that fear built within him.

He looked over meekly to see what was taking her so long to see that she had in fact not moved at all. Her bangs covered her mossy eyes and her lips were set in a displeased frown. Panic struck him. Had his plan backfired, or had she found him out?

"Two can play at that game," she began bitterly as she looked up with pure hatred in her eyes, "Soul Eater Evans."

Shit.

She had not only not hit him with anything, but she had also used his full name. _All_ of his full name, an anagram for 'I am _very_ pissed at you right now'. He was in such a state of shock that he didn't have a chance to ask her what she meant, and by the time he came to she was already in her room with her door no doubt locked tightly.

"Nya~" Blaire began as she stretched and walked over to Souls bed to stare at his shocked face, "Soul-kun's in _trouble_~" He slapped a hand over his face as he realized that the slutty feline was actually right for once. Nothing in his plan had turned out right. He had made her angry, but not in the way he expected.

"I'm sorry, Maka," he sobbed into his hand as the sounds of her screaming in pain mixed with her angry words in his mind, "I'm so sorry..."


	3. Ch 3: Their Lies

**Where Affection Lies**

By MidnightSting

**Chapter 3: Their Lies**

When Soul's alarm clock finally rang it's rhythmatic rhyme he hit it with precision as he leapt off his bed, and made his way to his bedroom door, stopping briefly to brace himself. How should he act? Normal? Sorry? He had no clue what to do. Maka hadn't been this angry with him in a _long_ time, possibly never.

He gulped in a burning breath of air, and swung his door open, ready for the world to come crashing down on him. Or so he thought.

Maka turned to him with her scarf around her neck, and her jacket on ready to go. He glanced at the kitchen clock, and determined that it was still over an two hours until they had to leave for school that morning, and she looked like she was leaving in two minutes.

"Where are you going?" Soul asked with a slight gulp of fear at the glance back she gave him.

"I need to go see Stein before classes this morning, so you'll have to get to school on your own," with a huff that he couldn't determine was a sickly one or an angry one she turned on her heels and made for the door.

"Wait," he began as he stepped forward. When she turned to glare daggers at him he realized that he had no idea what to say to her besides 'don't leave me'. He glanced around awkwardly, and finally settled his eyes on the stove. That could work he thought gleefully.

"What, Soul?" Maka asked bitterly as if she couldn't wait to leave.

"What about breakfast?" he asked with a slight grin as he tried desperately to cut through the palpable air, and somehow reach her. It didn't seem to work. She looked at him like she couldn't believe he was serious.

"In the fridge, on the bottom left hand corner," she replied with an icy tone, as she opened the door, making sure to slam it as hard as she could upon leaving. Soul cringed as the door make a loud bang followed by several splintering noises.

"Damn it all," Soul muttered to himself as he rubbed his hands down his face. He snapped his fingers as one last attempt to keep her home a little longer crossed his mind. He ran for the door, and opened it, with much complaint from the overly abused wood and hinges.

"Maka!" Soul called when he spotted her at the bottom step of their apartment. She turned to him with a look on her face that would kill a weaker man.

"What is it now, Soul?" she asked in a voice that stated that she was not pleased _at all_.

"Um," he began slightly unnerved by her menacing glare. She heaved a heavy sigh, and turned back to the path leading out of the parking lot. "Wait!" he called desperately, and she stopped never bothering to turn. This was his last chance. "Why do you have to go see Stein so early?" he asked over the wind that had suddenly gained some momentum.

He wasn't sure if it was the way the winds new strength carried her down hair over her face, or the sound of her voice when she said it that got to him, but something in her at that moment spoke of danger.

"Wouldn't you like to know," She replied as she turned to give him one final, venomous leer.

Shit.

He closed the door behind him, sliding down it as his heart raced. Was that even his meister anymore? Her voice spoke of murder, and her eyes spoke of hate. He gripped his heart as the realization that he may have very well ruined their relationship hit him.

Panic grew within him.

"No!" he shook his head with fear, "that's not it!" he shouted to himself. He stood up, and desperately made his way to the fridge, and opened it with overused muscle. She made him breakfast, right? That meant that she had to be fine, just in a bad mood that's all. Right?

He glanced down to the bottom left hand corner of their fridge, and his heart sank as he fell to his knees. He reached in, and pulled out the unopened bag of seaweed.

"Damn it all!" he sobbed as he clutched the plastic in his hand.

This wasn't right. So much about this just wasn't right! His meister didn't do things like this, not since she was younger anyway, and even then she wouldn't give him the murderous glares that she had a minute ago.

Something was wrong, _very_ wrong.

"Soul-kun~" he turned to see Blaire clutching Maka's keys between her teeth. Soul grabbed them, and stared at the, as Maka called it, 'cute' rubber mold, of what she told him their souls looked like. Another brilliant idea hit him, and he _prayed_ that it would go better than his last.

"Thanks, Blaire!" Soul exclaimed as he pet the cat on her head, and ran to his room to change out of his sleep wear into something more 'street' appropriate.

This would give him the chance to follow Maka to Stein's office and find out just what was up with her. If she happened to notice him tailing her he could simply use the excuse that he was giving her, her keys and that he might as well go with her since he's already out.

He practically sprinted out of their house as he slammed the cracked door behind him.

He was going to find out what was wrong with Maka if it killed him!

After several minutes of running, and glancing around corners he finally managed to catch up to her. To his surprise she was not nearly as close to the school as he had expected her to be. She also appeared to be moving at a far slower pace then usual.

He glanced around a corner to see her pause to catch her breath at a corner. She held her knees, and wheezed as though she had just run for her life even though she had only been walking, slower than usual he might add.

Was something... physically wrong with her?

His heart sped. What was wrong with her! He began to panic. The woman huffing before him seemed nothing like his meister. Her eyes were dark, and her hair was down. She appeared to be in pain, and was outright showing it, whereas Maka always tried to hide it, at least in front of him.

He picked up his pace, and began to follow closer behind her.

Slowly he began to notice that she wasn't heading to the school at all. In fact she appeared to be going in the exact opposite direction.

"Where is she?" Soul began to himself, but stopped as he noticed that she had once again stopped to catch her breath. He furrowed his brows. Something _was_ wrong here.

As he was about to give up with hiding, and call out to her he noticed her grab the sides of her head in pain, and take a slight step back.

"No," she mumbled, as she shook her head violently, "not yet. Not until I get to Stein-" before she could finish she seemed to loose the strength to stand, and began to fall over backwards.

Soul's weapon-must-protect-meister functions kicked in, and he ran forward with amazing speed to catch her mid fall, and pull her close to him.

"Maka!" he called through desperate fear, "Maka! Maka, what's wrong?" she cracked her eyes open with what seemed like much effort, and stared at him with normal, pain filled eyes. This was the meister he knew.

"Soul?" was all she managed by the time she blacked out.

"Maka!" he shook her slightly in fear that she may not wake again.

"Soul," he glanced up to see Stein bending over to take a look at Maka.

"What's wrong with her, Stein?" Soul pleaded as he held his meister tightly.

"This isn't good," Stein began as his eyes focused on a certain part of her chest, and Soul assumed her soul, "I was afraid this might happen..." something in Stein's overly calm voice scared Soul. To anyone who didn't know the man they would have no concern, but Soul sensed something dark beyond that calmness.

"What were you afraid of?" Soul questioned in terror, "what happened to her?" Stein stared into Soul's eyes for a moment, limes connecting with rubies, and seemed to ponder how to reply.

"Maka," he began as he glanced back down to her, "has been corrupted by black blood."

...

For those of you who are going, 'WTF is a 'cute' rubber mold, you can find what I'm talking about by typing in 'soul and maka cell phone charm' on google. :)

I actually have one of these. *Happy face*

BTW I'm not writing the next part for a while~

_SUFFER_! 3:

JK I wrote all of these three chapters in one sitting. I need a break. ;_;


	4. Ch 4: Affection Lies Part 1: Outer Lies

**Where Affection Lies**

By MidnightSting

**Chapter 4: Affection Lies **

**Part 1: Outer Lies**

"What do you mean, 'she's been corrupted by black blood'?" Soul was beginning to panic. He could see the slightest flicker of sadness in the professor's eyes, and from him it seemed like a sure sign of demise.

"Well," Stein began as he led Soul through his front gate while holding Maka, the object of Soul's attention, closely as he sped down the walkway to his front door where Marie peeked out from the interior.

"Well?" Soul questioned as he quickened his pace to that of the professors to catch a glimpse of Maka's face. She was still in pain.

"You know that in the final battle with Asura Maka awakened her weapon gene while unconscious correct?" Soul nodded in reply as he glanced up to see Stein staring back down at Maka's soul once more. "Well," he continued, "the black bloods using that gene, a separate soul if you will, to overpower her own grigory soul."

"But," Soul paused in both fear, and confusion, "how's something like that even possible?" he asked finally as Marie opened the door for them to enter.

"I'll take her now, Stein," Marie said in a kind, but uncertain voice.

"Yes, make sure you're gentle though, her soul's in chaos," Stein stated as he set Maka down on the couch, while Marie knelt down on the ground in front of it.

"W-what're you gonna do?" Soul asked, unable to mask his shaky voice. He couldn't loose his meister, he just couldn't!

"I'm going to attempt to cleanse as much of the black blood as I can from her soul with my healing soul wave link..." Marie stated as she bit her bottom lip in concentration.

"Does that mean Maka will be alright?" he asked in a slightly calmer voice.

"Not necessarily, I'm afraid," his heart dropped at Stein's words, "Maka's in an extremely fragile state right now, even the slightest pressure could break her soul completely. She's already experiencing slight soul-rejection as we speak..."

Soul whipped his head back to Maka's unconscious form just in time to see a black, slender, needle-like form burst out of his meister's side, and slice Marie's cheek open with a sickening, tearing noise.

"Careful, Marie," Stein warned as he stepped forward to place a hand on her shoulder, "I don't need anymore patients tonight."

"I know," Marie stated in a faint voice as she continued to concentrate on Maka's soul.

"How did this happen?" Soul shook his head in agony, as he collapsed to his knees under the pressure, "I thought the grigory soul could counteract the black blood!"

"It can," Stein stated as he glanced back to Soul assuring, "but when the gene she received from Spirit activated it took over a good section of the one her mother gave her, the grigory gene. As such, the grigory soul has been weakened by the weapon soul, and the black blood's using that to turn her soul into a state of chaos."

"So," Soul began as he cleared the lump from his throat, with much effort he noticed, "the black blood's been corrupting her ever since we defeated Asura?" Stein paused for a moment before replying.

"Yes," he looked away from Soul then, and it all began to make sense. That's what he had meant by telling Maka that if things continued like this she'd have to tell him. He didn't mean her father, he meant him!

"Why didn't you tell me?" Soul cried as he slammed his fists into his knees, "I would have never resonated with her if I had known that it was hurting her so badly!"

"And that was the point in not telling you," Soul swung his head up to give Stein a deadly stare, but he merely light a cigarette, and took a long drag. "Maka wouldn't let me tell you," Stein added finally as he turned back to Soul.

"_Why_?" Soul was in unimaginable agony. To think that he had been the leading cause in all of his meister's sufferings.

He couldn't bare it!

"She wanted to stay with you," Soul's eyes grew wide when he said it, but he understood it was true. It was hard enough for the two of them to stay together now that he had become someone as important as a death scythe, and Maka had worked hard to keep their partnership going. If they couldn't resonate... they would be separated...

"But still," Soul choked on his voice; "something like this..." he smothered a whimper in his throat, and tried to hold it together.

'_Wow, you don't look cool at all, Soul,_' he whipped his head up, and began to stand. Was that...?

"Maka?" Soul voiced out loud as he made his way over to her. The soul rejection had quieted down thanks to Marie, and Maka appeared to be in less pain, but she was nowhere near conscious; why then did he hear her—?

'_Cool guys don't cry._' he gasped. It was Maka! But her lips weren't moving, and she was still unconscious.

"Hey," Soul began as he stared down at her from next to Marie, "Stein," he turned to said man, and gave him a look of curiosity.

"Yes?" Stein asked in a suspicious tone.

"Is it possible to soul resonate with her right now?" the question sounded dumb even to him, she was unconscious, and it was soul resonating that had landed them in this mess to begin with.

"Why?" Stein asked in a dark tone, as he no doubt tried to decode what the boy was thinking of doing.

"Well," he turned back to Maka, and rubbed the back of his hand down the soft skin of her cheek, "it's just..." he struggled for a way to say it without sounding crazy, "I can hear her, and I think she's communicating through a soul link of some sort. The only thing I can think of though is a soul resonance." Stein stared straight at him for sometime before replying.

"It's possible," Soul's eyes widened, "it's possible to resonate with someone who's unconscious, only if the connection is strong enough though."

"It is," Soul replied instantly. Stein seemed puzzled by his almost all-knowing tone. "We've done it before," Soul finished as he gripped his meister's hand.

"I see," Stein seemed almost _happy_ at that comment, as though Soul had just told him a fairly large secret.

"Could I help her?" he asked finally as he stared, dead straight into Stein's eyes, "If I entered her soul I mean."

"That's..." Stein paused for a moment as if to mull this possibility over, "possible."

"Should I try?" Soul asked not pleased with Steins not very elaborate response.

"It's risky," Stein stated as he took a seat in a nearby armchair, "the moment you enter there will be an influx of black blood, and will momentarily make her circumstances worse," Stein's words cut deep, and Soul debated turning back from the idea. "However," he continued, "if you can somehow make contact with her soul, then combine it with your own for a moment then Marie and I would have enough internal strength to push all of our wave links at the black blood, eventually annihilating it."

"How am I supposed to 'combine' our souls?" Soul asked unsure of himself.

"A strong moment," he replied with another drag of his cigarette. That was it? His great description of how to pull off such a feat? A strong moment? He looked down to his meister in concern. Was it worth the risk?

"Also, if we can irradiate the black blood then I'll be able to go into soul surgery, and remove the weapon gene so this doesn't occur again," Stein stated as a bonus for Soul to add to the pros.

"Will that hurt her?" Soul asked wearily. Something like 'soul surgery' sounded painful, not to mention dangerous.

"No," Stein smiled back through the cigarette, "with modern technology I can take it out as easily as one would dissect a frog." Soul crinkled his nose at the last comment, memories of Stein's _famous _class dissections returning to memory. He didn't quite get the analogy, but it _seemed_ like Stein was fairly confident.

Soul took one last glimpse at Maka, and knew that he had to do it. There was no way he could just sit back and do nothing now that he'd come this far. She'd dove into his infected soul to save him once, and he sure as hell'd return the favor!

"I'll do it," Soul stated finally as he leaned into his meister's unconscious form, touching her forehead with his own as he began the soul resonance.

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Stein?" Marie questioned wearily as she turned to give him a concerned look, "Combining souls is no easy task." He merely smirked at her base question.

"If they can manage a soul resonance when one parties unconscious I'm sure they'll do just fine," Marie simply stared back at his all-knowing grin.

"I sure hope you're right," Marie sighed as she returned to healing Maka.

"I'm sure I am," he stated slyly as he stared down at the unconscious pair, "I'm sure I am."

...

lololololololololol

whys this part titled outerlies?

Idunevenknow.

JK 'bout what I had in here before. JUST GOT THE E-MAIL.

I feel the love guys. ;_;


	5. Ch 4: Affection Lies Part 2: Inner Lies

**Where Affection Lies**

By MidnightSting

**Chapter 4: Affection Lies **

**Part 2: Inner Lies**

'_It's dark..._' the voiced trailed and began again in agony, '_help me, my Soul... It's so dark..._'

He whipped his eyes open swiftly at the sound of his meister's voice, and struggled under his own weight as he lifted himself into a sitting position. Searching frantically for her he finally realized where he was.

"What the..." he gradually stood as he glanced around their apartment. He supposed it made sense, 'home is where the heart is' after all; well, _soul_ in this case. "What's that make this then?" he asked himself dully as he glanced around, smirking he added, "the _black apartment_? Not cool at all, Maka," he chuckled as he took a step forward. "But I suppose it's better than something like the _black library_," he finished.

"Now if I were Maka, where would I be?" he questioned himself, as he took a questioning glance at their seemingly changing apartment. The ceiling seemed to come down a foot or two, and the normally bright colors of their furnishings appeared dull. The black blood's influence he assumed.

Turning toward the kitchen he took a quick glance to confirm that she was not inside. Continuing onward he checked the living room, bathroom, laundry closet, and even opened up the front door for a moment only to find nothing but blackness like when he left the black room.

Walking down the small hallway of their shared apartment he looked sternly at her bedroom door. Normally this was forbidden terrain, and he didn't really feel all that comfortable with entering her room within her _soul_, no doubt the most private sanctum in her life, but figured that under the current circumstances she would, more than likely, keep the clobbering down to a minimum.

With bated breath he turned the knob slowly, and pushed the door into what he was sure would be his demise. As it opened enough to see in he squeezed his eyes closed on instinct, and opened the door until he was fully exposed to the sweet scent of strawberry mints that Maka herself emitted.

After several moments of standing there with his eyes sewn shut, and his feet seemingly nailed to the floor he opened his eyes to reveal, not a young woman with a book ready to launch, but an empty room looking only slightly different than the last time he dared to enter.

Slamming the door closed behind him with fury he slid down the hallway wall until he was sitting with his eyes wide on the ceiling. Where was she? He had looked everywhere, everywhere!

Except... He glanced at his bedroom door.

No way. There was absolutely _no way _Maka would be in his bedroom. Aside from waking him up in the morning with a pot or pan she was just as forbidden to enter his room, as he was hers. Whilst living with the opposite sex, one must abide by such rules, they had learned their lesson long ago, and in few words decided that unless called upon, or in emergencies there was no entering of the others room.

Though he was always more lenient about the rule then she was, preferring to do his _business_ in the shower; she still obeyed her own rule, preferring to be fair, and safe over sorry, than enter his room on free will.

He stood again, and stared questioningly at his door. It wasn't like Maka, but he questioned if within the realms of her own soul she would enter there without reason. As if beckoning him forward black ooze began to seep out from underneath the door. He knelt down, and touched the substance inquisitively.

"Black," he paused in realization, "blood?"

Terror filled his heart at the sheer amount that poured out from the depths of his own dwellings. With mixed feelings of hope and fear he opened the door to his room, and gasped at the sight before him.

There, in the center of the floor...

"Maka!" he ran forward only to be held back by some unidentifiable force. Struggling he looked down to see black hands raise out of the puddles of blood on the floor, and hold him in place; slithering their way around his body like the snakes of the woman who'd bestowed this curse upon them.

"Damn it, let me _go_!" he cursed as he tore his arm free of one, only to have it grabbed by another. "Maka!" he shouted in desperation to get her attention. She didn't seem to hear him, "M-Maka?" he questioned with a shaky voice as he realized that the blood on the floor appeared to be oozing out of a crescent slash in her chest. "_Maka_!" a scream caught in his throat, as he feared the worst.

Her head was bowed down as she sat on her knees in a pool of her own black blood. Hair flowed up and down as if in water, and her clothes followed suit. Her hands lay before her palms up as if she were staring intently at them. After a moment he realized that there was blood in her hands too, but it was a normal crimson, and obviously not her own.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk..." Soul whipped his head in the direction of the sound. From the corner of the room he saw the shadow of a person dance across the wall as the source of the sound moved across the room towards them.

The laughing moonlight that sank through the window caught a gleam of something sharp that appeared to be a blade of sorts. A black blade.

"Don't tell me," Soul sucked in a breath as if to halt the name from coming out. No way! But as said man walked into the light Soul's fears came into it also, as Spirit walked to Maka's still form, and began to laugh in an unnaturally dark tone.

"That's what you get, Maka," he grinned as he moved his arm ever so slightly to slice her cheek, "for being a bad girl."

"Leave her alone!" Soul bellowed as he fought his restraints without success.

"...Soul?" Maka lifted her head lightly with the whisper, but not enough to see her face.

"I'm right here, Maka!" Soul called desperately, "it's gonna be fine, I'm right here!" he heard a sob catch in her throat, and a lump grew in his own.

"But you're _not_ here!" she cried as she raised her shaking hands, "you'll _never_ be here, never again!" her voice broke and she fell to a heap in the floor. Soul's yells of concern mixed with Spirits incessant laughter.

"What the _fuck_ are you laughing about you son-of-a-bitch!" Soul was furious now, and he began to break through the restraints that held him.

"That's quite the interesting illusion you've created there, Maka," Spirit teased as he lifted Maka by her hair to have her face me. The look in her eyes was shock at first, but soon turned to numb misery.

"Do you miss him that badly?" he mocked in a feminine voice as he threw her back to the ground with a thud, "_do_ you?" he kicked her violently, sending her flying into the wall, then crashing down to the floor. Soul's heart gripped as his throat as he watched her form fall down onto something apparently soft. "Then go with him to the _grave_!" with that Spirit laughed in pitched tones and began to topple over in hysteria.

Soul whipped his head to Spirit ready to break free of his restraints, and open a can of serious kick-ass, when a small whimper came from Maka that made him glance back to her in worry.

"...S-Soul..." her voice was very distorted, and he could _hear_ the agony within her. Just then, Spirit's blade caught the moonlight causing an illuminating glow to fill the room, and gave him a quick glance of the horrifying seen before him.

There, in the corner of his own room, being grabbed by his absolutely distraught meister was his own _corpse_. His eyes grew wide until they were the size of the imposters, and his mouth went agape. There was a large slash running down its chest that reminded him of the one that marked his loyalty to her.

"Maka, that isn't me!" Soul cried as he lost the will to fight the arms grabbing at his body, "it isn't _me_, Maka!"

"Of _course_ it's him," Spirit growled as he walked over to her, and pulled her away from the body with vigorous movements. He leaned in real close, and let out another burst of laughter, "it's _him_!"

"Stay _away_ from him!" Maka cried as she grabbed onto Spirits collar, and lifted him off his feet just slightly as she prepared to smash his face in. Soul regained some of his will, and began to pull on the black blood once more, until he heard several snaps followed by the sound of liquid slapping liquid.

"It's _your_ fault!" Maka sobbed in vengeance as she slammed him to the wall, "it's _your_ fault Mama left!" again she slammed him, "_your_ fault I can't trust people with my true feelings," again, "_your_ fault my soul's failing me now," again, "_your_ fault he's _gone_!" she shrieked as the wall finally broke and sent Spirit's limp form flying into the other room. As the dust settled scrutinous snickers followed.

"You mean _your_ fault," Spirits eyes turned deadly as his body began to fade into a boiling puddle of black blood, "don't you _dear_..."

The room became silent for a moment as they both stood perfectly still.

"M-Maka?" Soul became uneasy at the way she stood so still, without so much as breathing. Soon after him calling her name, as if clockwork, she began to fall backwards as if the marionette-strings holding her had broken free.

With newfound strength, or the possible weakening of the black blood, he finally managed to break free from the blood's bond, and leapt forward to catch his falling meister as he had done so many times before.

"S-Soul..." her voice was shaky, whether from the injury to her soul, or the fact that she was seeing her presumed dead partner alive and well.

"Yeah, Maka," he struggled to keep himself together as he held her as close to him as he could manage, "It's me. It's _really_ me."

"But..." she paused in wonder as she stared at him through pain veiled eyes.

"That was just an illusion your mind created," Soul answered, reading her thoughts like the pages of a book. Tears filled her eyes again as she reached up to grab his head.

"Oh, Soul!" she sobbed as he leaned forward to hold her up to his chest tightly, and ensure her that it was really him, and not some illusion.

"It's alright now, Maka," he cooed as he held back his own tears of relief, "it's alright..."

"B-but," she pushed away and stared at him with questioning eyes, "how did you get here? Isn't this," she glanced around as if just remembering that she wasn't _in_ the real world at the moment before continuing, "my soul?" she finished with wonder.

"Yeah," he laughed at her bewildered expression, "it wasn't really that hard for me to get in either," he smirked with a sly tone to his voice, "probably because you were practically _inviting_ me in," he could barely contain himself at the embarrassed flush her cheeks had taken a liking to.

"I-I did?" she questioned, as her face grew hotter.

"Yeah," he figured he'd milk this as much as he could seeing how absolutely _adorable_ her face was right then, "you even referred to me as '_your_ Soul'," he couldn't contain the snicker that grew in his throat at her jaw flapping with no words able to break free from them.

"D-did not!" she bellowed as she shoved him back with slight force.

"Oh, really?" he questioned as he got dangerously close to her face, "how would you know? You were hyped up on black blood, _remember_?" he swung his voice on the word 'remember', and insured that her temperature raised another notch.

"I-I wouldn't say something like that," she whimpered as if he were teasing her, which in a way he was, and looked away with her arms crossed against her now, somehow, uninjured chest.

"I would," he said it before he thought about it, but somehow in the bewildered look she flashed him when she looked back he didn't have the heart to regret it. "Don't you _ever_," he began with a slight breaking taking hold of his voice, "do this to me again, _my_ Maka," with that he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers softly.

Sparks exploded in his eyes, and he was delighted when she began to move her mouth next to his, seemingly lost in the moment. As the passion behind the kiss strengthened, the connection between their souls did as well until he couldn't differentiate between the two of them.

When he opened his eyes, and pulled away from her face he found himself back in Stein's home with a very red-faced Maka before him. A smirk crossed his face as an idea popped into his head.

He glanced behind him, and lifted up some sort of science book, and softly conked it against Maka's head, whispering, "_Soul~chop_!" under his breath with amusement.

She couldn't contain the laughter that bubbled up within her as it spilled out her mouth in a fit of giggles, "_Not_ cool, Soul."

He couldn't help but smile at the sight of her, happy and once again herself. He decided that when they got home he was going to tell her everything; about the dream that tormented him, about the reason he wouldn't play for her, and most importantly his feelings for her would have to be explained in _great_ detail until her entire body flushed red in embarrassment.

After all, he had learned over time that the only place affection lies was an area _free_ of lies.

...

YEAH...

That's 'bout it.

Listen, I know there's grammar errors in here, but please don't comment on it. I simply DO NOT have enough time to edit this, and by the time I do I'll no doubt have other things on my agenda that have more relevance than fan fiction (wait-a-minute-is-that-even-possible?)

Just be thankful I wrote this last chapter at all with all the crap that's happening in my life lately. Also no whining about Spirit being a bad guy. It isn't _really_ him, it's Maka's _mind's_ version of him.

Lastly, no hate mail. Please, I beg you. Don't do it.

Bye, bye then~


End file.
